


A Ruby In The Rough

by zeerogue



Series: Voltron A/B/O Fairytales [11]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aladdin AU, Alpha Lance (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Keith (Voltron), Omega Verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:53:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24838000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeerogue/pseuds/zeerogue
Summary: Once Upon a time, hidden in a desert oasis, there was a thief and a prince who, in one night, fell in love. Keith knew he was no diamond, but he would do anything to be what Prince Lance needs and three simple wishes won't be enough.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Voltron A/B/O Fairytales [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1223141
Comments: 53
Kudos: 318





	A Ruby In The Rough

**Author's Note:**

> This one's the longest yet. I knew it would be long.

**A Ruby in the Rough**

**(A Klance A/B/O Fairytale Oneshot)**

**By: ZeeRogue**

  
  
  


In an oasis far away surrounded by a golden sea lay the kingdom of Altea. Grievances over the recent years had gone unheard by the royal family as they prepared for a royal wedding. Unfortunate citizens were left starving acting as no more than pests for merchants as they tried to survive. One of these pests laid nestled in an abandoned tower at the farthest end of the kingdom. A ruby in the rough fighting a growing flame within his body. Keith. Who denied his own beauty, not a diamond, not worth the gold, and he hid his omega status. Still the nickname stuck. 

Keith knew he was nothing but a street rat with a ruby crown. 

Yet, rat’s still needed to eat.

Keith pulled himself from his nest. He washed the stink of preheat off his body and began to climb down from his tower. Running the streets this close to heat was a risk, but he had been run off by city guards the previous few days before he could stock up on food and he had no money for a heat room where meals were provided. 

Hope alighted in Keith’s chest when he saw the face of a friend, his only friend, patrolling the streets with the royal guard. 

“Shiro,” he whispered and waited around the corner for the beta man to slip away and meet him. 

“Keith, I can’t talk to you long, I must escort a princess to the castle for the prince to meet.”

“I know, I’ll be quick,” Keith said and shuffled his feet. He’d taken a cloak to help cover his scent. “I need money.”

Shiro sighed. “I don’t have any jobs right now. I’m really sorry.”

Keith held tight to his cloak. “I...okay.”

“Keith...maybe I can let you borrow some, though.”

Keith shook his head. “I can’t owe you money, Shiro. It’s fine, I can do without a room. But, if you get jobs soon, give them to me first.”

“Of course, you’ve got the best connections to the underground. But, I don’t mind if it’s for... _that_.”

Keith chuckled. “You can’t even bring yourself to say it. No matter, I’ll be fine.”

With those words, Keith hurried to the market. He needed either food or coin. Jewelry would be good any other day, but he didn’t have time to run to the underground market for trade. Anyone looking to one up him that got a whiff of his omega status would sell him the moment he took a step in their district. 

Bread was easy enough to take, but it wouldn’t be enough. Keith headed for a fruit stall only to pause as another thief caused a ruckus. 

“What do you think you’re doing you scrawny thing?” growled the stall owner holding the arm of a man. 

“They were hungry,” said a voice soft and light, but with disgust present as they tried to pull away. 

“Oh, and then are you to pay for their hunger? I don’t feed vermin for free.”

“Vermin! They were children!”  
  
The stall owner grabbed the man’s arm tighter. “Are you paying or not?”

“I have no coin on me, but if you were to ask the castle…”

“Castle! Hah, you think they care for your vermin friends. Little rats. The lot of them. And you as well. I should cut off your little beta rat head for your thievery!”

“A beta!” the man growled. 

“Yeah a beta, I can’t even smell you!” the stall owner said and released his alpha scent. 

Keith covered his face. It was a disgusting scent with no control, just there to intimidate. The thieving man didn’t back away, just tried again to release himself. He might not be scared, but he was still weaker than the stall owner and ended up with his arm against the table, gold bands on his wrist jingling into view for a moment.

The stall owner reached for a large knife covered in sticky fruit grime and flies. “The punishment for thievery is to lose the hand you stole with.”

The knife came up. The stall owner’s hand went down. The thief’s hand stayed intact. 

“Wow, can you even cut a melon with this knife? It’s so dull you wouldn’t be able to even bruise someone with it,” Keith said as he leaned against the fruit stand inspecting the tool with disgust. 

“You, Ruby! How dare you interfere! I told you the next time you showed your pretty face around my stand I’d let my boy have his way with you beta or not.”

Keith scoffed and threw the knife behind him. It landed in a horse pie on the street causing onlookers to move away from the fruit stand in disgust. 

“You have to catch me first,” Keith said, rushing past the stall owner grabbing the thief’s arm to pull him along. 

“W-wait, where are we going?” the thief asked

“Just trust me,” Keith said and ran around a corner just as the stall owner called for the guards. 

There were rows and rows of dyed fabric hung out to dry in the alley Keith arrived in. He pushed the thief up against a pillar and pulled a sheet around them.

_Please don’t see us, please don’t see us. Don’t get caught, Keith._

Hurried steps ran past only moments later as the city guards tore at the fabrics in their haste. The yells of the workers angry at having to wash their fabrics again followed. 

Keith’s heart raced as he waited for the coast to clear. Beneath his hand, he felt a second heartbeat faster than his own in a hard chest. It was accompanied by a strong scent that made Keith’s eyes water, the smell of an alpha. Keith pulled his hand away only for his wrist to be caught.

“Trust you? Were you planning to pin yourself against me from the start?” said the thief. 

Keith lifted his head. He wasn’t much shorter than this thief, but still their height was measurable. From this close he could see beneath the bland but unused cloak the thief wore, his face. It was a handsome face, tanned with markings dictating royal lineage the same blue of his eyes just below them. 

A grinning face. 

Keith pulled his hand away. “You’re a prince.”

The thief’s face fell. “What are you…”

Holding up his opposite hand, Keith let the golden bangles he’d swapped from the prince while they ran clink together. “It’s stupid to wear such things in this part of the market unless you have escorts. If you had simply gotten lost from your escort, you would have had money on you. You’re an alpha, even omegas carry their own coin. So, you must therefore come from a station that has no need of money. A station where word alone makes sure you get what you want. You’re from the castle.”

“Ah, very smart for a thief, a real thief,” the prince said and tried to swipe his bangles back. He was easily dodged. “So, I must be a prince?”

“You must be from the castle, but you have the tattoos of the royal family. That makes you a prince,” Keith deduced then slid the bangles off his wrist and handed them back. 

“So, did you do this for some kind of reward or…” the prince started. 

Keith quickly covered the prince’s mouth and listened. The footsteps were headed back this way. He grabbed the prince’s hand and began to pull him along. “We’re not safe here. The guard is on high alert today since a princess is coming. I can get you closer to the castle where someone will recognize you and get you back inside safely, hands intact.”

The prince pulled his hand away. “No, I’m not going back to the castle.”

Why a prince wouldn’t want to return to his castle, Keith couldn’t understand, but he didn’t argue. He couldn’t be caught right before his heat. “Fine, then just follow me.”

Further and further away from the market, Keith led them. Further and further away from the castle. The safest place for Keith was the most unsafe place just shy of the black market. Guards rarely made their rounds on the far end of the kingdom’s residential area where buildings from old wars had yet to be rebuilt as they faced nothing but the gold expanse of the desert farther than the eye could see.

“I’ve never been to this part of the city. There’s no trees here,” the prince said. 

“Of course you haven’t, this is where the lowest of the low live. The vermin,” Keith explained, finally letting go of the prince’s hand. 

Keith sidled up to a tall building and rooted around in a pile of garbage for a series of long sticks that he hooked together. With the end of the new contraption, he was able to pull down a rope hung a couple stories above them with a flat knot tied at the end. He used his whole body to hold it down and reached out a hand for the prince. 

“What’s that?” the prince asked. 

“We’re going up. You have to hold on tight,” Keith explained. 

The prince gave the rope a curious look before smiling at Keith. “Alright, I believe I understand.” He pressed a foot on the knot and held onto the rope with one hand while wrapping the other hand around Keith’s waist. 

Keith gasped in surprise, but steadied himself. It was indeed safer if they stayed closer, but the alpha smell the prince carried was so clean and sharp that he tried not to breath it in too deeply. He was so used to the stench of an alpha causing him fear. How had the stall owner not smelled it before?

And why wasn’t Keith terrified?  
  
Keith threw the stick device back towards the pile of junk. It hit some contraption hidden there then fell into its many different parts. A click sounded and suddenly they were being pulled into the air. The prince cut off a scream and held Keith tighter. It hurt, but Keith couldn’t help but laugh as they settled dangling just above the rooftop. 

“Hey, did you laugh?” the prince asked. 

Keith jumped off the rope, but held it still for the prince. “I thought prince’s were supposed to be brave.”

The prince scoffed as he dismounted and patted down his robes. “Hah, tells me how much you know about the royal family.”

“I know little about them,” Keith said as he turned to a pulley system that held the rope up and fiddled with it before throwing the rope down. It fell and came to a stop just where Keith had found it. 

“That was an interesting contraption. We have many examples of such things in the castle, but I’ve never seen one like that,” the prince said. 

Keith walked over to the edge of the roof they were on then jumped down to the next one. “I didn’t build it. An old friend did. She was richer, though, and moved into the castle.”

The prince stumbled after Keith. “Oh, I might know her then.”

“So you might, prince, but I won’t tell you. I cut ties with her for her betterment.” Keith started climbing a ladder getting onto a higher roof and then a higher one. 

The prince followed him dutifully though not as gracefully. “Where are we going?”

“Here,” Keith said, finally stopping at the top of a stable tower where he’d made his home in this abandoned place. 

There wasn’t much to it, but it was the safest place for Keith to be in his heats. He had another home for days he felt safe outside of his heat and other places to hide for short periods when he just needed sleep, but this was the place he built his nest. 

“What is this, your home?” the prince asked. 

“It’s my favorite place,” Keith said and opened a curtain on a glassless window to show the setting sun as it cast it’s orange glow across the city.

“Wow, you can see everything from here,” the prince said, coming to stand beside Keith at the glassless window. “The castle looks so small. 

“It’s only one view. From the otherside I can see the stars brighter than anyone else can,” Keith said. “I see many views here, prince.”

“It’s Lance.”

Keith turned to the prince. “What?”

“You can just call me Lance.”

Keith shook his head and moved away. “You’re a prince, don’t be silly.”

“Then should I just call you a thief? Or is your name Ruby?” the prince, Lance, asked. 

Keith sat and rooted around in an old chest. He had a handful of nuts at the bottom, but two of them had rotted and he had little hopes for the rest. “Keith. Keith is my name. Ruby is just a nickname.”

“Oh, do thieves get nicknames? You must be well known yet you walk around without hiding yourself. I had an excuse, I’m ignorant, but you in just a cloak I think it would be easy to find you. You have a pretty face.”

Keith scoffed and turned to the prince. “I can hide well with little. Only those looking for me could find me, but they can’t catch me. I have people. Other people need what those people can do for me.”

“So you’re a leader?” Lance asked. 

Keith stood and walked back over to the prince with a water skin. “I’m part of a network, one that a prince doesn’t need to know about.”

“Maybe not just any prince,” Lance said. 

Keith offered him the water. The prince looked at it questionably before taking it. He let out a satisfied sigh as the cool liquid made its way down his throat and handed it back to Keith with a grin. It was devilishly handsome, yet still somehow awkward and adorable. Keith had never felt so confused by someone’s smile. 

“You are staring at me quite a bit, Keith the Ruby. Do you like my face that much?” the prince teased. 

Keith rolled his eyes and put the waterskin to his mouth blushing only as the water touched his lips understanding he was sharing a drink with a prince. He wiped his mouth as soon as he was done. 

“What are you doing out here, Prince Lance?”

Lance sighed. He removed his cloak and leaned against the frame of the window staring out at the kingdom as he lightly fanned himself with a hand covered in calluses from weapon training, but still smooth and uncracked. The clothes beneath his robes were a brilliant blue, soft, and made for luxury and comfort sewn with gold threads and cut to show off his chest carved with muscles instead of softened with fat like most wealthy merchants’ were. Other than the bangles on his wrist, the prince wore a single pair of studded earrings and no other fineries. He stared with a forlorn look out across the city. 

“Do you know the king, Keith?” Lance asked in answer. 

“There is no king. The last died when I was young during the foreign war. Regent Coran has been running the kingdom until the next alpha is old enough.”

“Yes, and he does as well as he can, but he’s not a royal, his word is not blessed. Do you know who the heir is?”

Keith frowned. “It was a female alpha, I heard it has changed.”

Lance nodded. “Your next ruler, your perfect ruler, left. She abandoned her kingdom. For a boy.”

Keith’s frown deepened. He didn’t have much intel on the going ons of the royal family, but he knew the talk from the guards. “Why for a boy?”

“She fell in love with a boy who had lost his name, but instead of fighting for that love to be recognized, she ran away. It has put a stain on our royal name. And...and it has caused trouble for me.”

“How so?” Keith asked. 

Lance approached Keith pressing him against the frame of the window. “Do you really want to know about me? Or do you want something from me?”

Keith narrowed his eyes and tried not to blush once again being close to this alpha. “You’re a prince so I’m not going to kill you. Try to leave if you want. All I wanted was to save your hand.”

“This hand?” Lance asked and suddenly had it wrapped around Keith’s throat. 

It was strong, but pressed strangely into Keith’s neck. Keith had been strangled plenty of times before, this was different. There was a playfulness to the threat in the alpha prince’s eyes. Keith bit back a whine and continued to stare defiantly. 

Lance pulled his hand away and chuckled. “You’re cute, Keith.”

Keith rubbed at his throat. “Do you flirt so aggressively with everyone you meet?”

Lance went back to staring out the window. “I used to. I used to be able to afford it. I was going to have a whole harem of lovers and just play all day. That’s how I was raised, to be handsome and spoiled.”

“Used to?” Keith prompted.

The prince lifted his hand to his hair, short and brown, and ruffled it making it stick up in agitation. “I have responsibilities now. I’m going to be king.”

King.   
  
He had almost watched the heir prince’s hand get chopped off.   
  
He had saved the future king.   
  
Keith immediately went to his knees. “Forgive my rudeness.”

Lance scoffed. “Oh, now you show me respect? This is why I came out on my own. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want lies fed to me because of my status.”

Keith glanced up. “So...I don’t have to grovel at your feet?”

The prince looked down at him and shook his head looking amused. 

“Only if it’s because I’m so unbearably handsome,” the prince teased and winked then went back to being serious. “No, don’t. I used to enjoy it, but it’s not fun when it comes with responsibility.”

Keith was thankful and stood back up. “Did you run away because you didn’t want to be king?”

“I didn’t run away. Well, I guess I did.” 

The prince growled then turned away from the window and marched across the room to another. He grabbed at the tattered curtain there, but only fisted his hand in it as pain overcame his face. 

“I couldn’t...I just couldn’t stand to meet another princess. Before, it was fine if others were shallow with their love, I knew what they wanted from me and they knew I had no plans to mate them. Now...now I have to mate. And all the princes and princesses I’m introduced to remind me of what I was raised to be. How do I go from a spoiled rich prince, to a ruler. I had never even been outside the castle walls until today. I...I had never seen the view of our kingdom. My rooms looked out on our gardens, on the plentiful lands of the oasis we farm. I knew nothing of the famine and poverty I saw today. I...I knew it existed, but I had never _seen_ it. I just...I got fed up and made the rash decision to come out here and see, truly understand, what I needed to take care of.”

“And? Do you regret seeing it?” Keith asked. 

Lance looked up at Keith. He stared at Keith as if he was really seeing him for the first time and a flush came to his face. He lowered his head and fell silent for a moment. 

Keith waited. The prince continued to stay silent.

A figure head. Their next king was nothing but a figure head. The thought of that made Keith uneasy. Who did he know in the royal council? Who would keep him safe?

No one. 

Shiro was just a guard. Keith was just another rat. Not even those in the underground would save him, not without a heavy price.

“I...I wasn’t born here,” Keith said. “My father was born here, but he was a livestock wrangler for a traveling merchant. I was very small when he brought me home during the war. He left me with an aunty and went back to work, but his money quickly stopped making it to us. As soon as I could read and write the basic words, that aunty tried to sell me as a ‘foreigner’. I’ve been on my own since. Luck and skill and a few connections are the only things that have got me to this point. And now I get to tell a prince how I live. Those of us out here, we never get to do that. Our grievances don’t make it past the merchant houses better yet greet the castle gates.”

“Keith,” the prince said softly. 

Keith approached the prince, pulled his fist from the curtain and held it. “You asked if I was trying to get something out of saving you. I wasn’t, but, while I have your ear, you can at least pretend to make the promise to listen to us when you take your throne. We aren’t vermin. There are bad people throughout this kingdom. Bad people doing good things and good people doing what they need to survive. What you’ve witnessed today, what you almost experienced, I’ve been through it all and survived, but I’ve seen those that didn’t. Worse than death, I’ve seen people break.”

Lance pulled his hand away. “I wasn’t raised to lead, Keith!”

Keith reached out for the prince’s hand again. “But you could! Even if you thought of it as an excuse, you had the thought to see us, to see the real us. That’s not the thinking of a prince, but a leader.”

The prince lifted his head. His blue eyes wavered and they made Keith giddy with hope. “I...I can’t do it on my own, though. Allura...she was so strong, but she left me. I...I was going to help her lead, but who is going to help me? None of these potential mates are made out for the support I need. I need someone to lead me.”

Keith felt his heart break. Could a prince really feel so alone in the world? He had never thought he could have more confidence than a prince, but here he was pulling their next ruler into his arms, comforting an alpha, taking in his scent in a way no one but a lover had before. 

“You will find someone.”

The prince held Keith tighter. Keith enjoyed the embrace, the smell of Lance, the heat of his arms, the feel of his strong body against his own. It was heavenly and Keith shivered with pleasure. 

“You smell divine, Keith the Ruby,” Lance muttered against Keith’s ear. 

His words were low and vibrated against Keith’s flesh like a massage. He let out a whine and heat pulsed through his body. 

Heat. 

Keith pushed the prince away. 

“You have to go.”

The prince looked startled. “What? I can’t go now.”

Keith watched the setting sun. He didn’t have long. 

“I know a guard, Shiro. If you go north to that bakery we passed and wait you should run into him. Just tell him his little brother Keith needs his help. He might not believe you’re a prince, but he can get you into the castle where someone else will notice you, just keep your cloak on until you get to the bakery,” Keith explained quickly. 

Lance frowned. “I’m not going back to the castle.”

“Oh, don’t be so stubborn...fine, you’re right, you’ll probably get into trouble,” Keith agreed. “Then you stay here and I’ll…”

Keith looked around him. This was his nest. He needed to fix it. He couldn’t go to one of his hiding places during heat and his safe spots were in the open. He would smell. Keith whined and hugged himself. He couldn’t be here with an alpha. At least not this alpha.

“Keith, are…” Lance trailed off as he approached. “Omega. You’re an omega. That stall owner said you were a beta.”

“I never said I wasn’t an omega,” Keith muttered and looked towards the piles of old sheets and fabrics he’d collected over the years that made up his nest.

The prince’s eyes hardened for a moment. “Did you approach me because you’re omega?”

Keith laughed. “What would that do? There’s money to be made in sex work, but I have never done such a thing. And even they don’t work during heat. I...I went outside today for food and instead I brought back a prince.”

Lance looked around the tower. “You really don’t have food.”

Keith pulled his cloak around him. “I’ve had a bad week.”

“What about a heat room?” Lance asked. 

Keith shook his head. “Neither of us have coin and it’s too late for that. I’m...you should go.”

Lance looked torn for a moment. He clenched his fists and shook himself. “No, I’ll stay with you.”

Keith moved back against the window frame that faced the desert. “I-I’ve never...with an alpha, even in heat. I’ve never...not with anyone.”

The prince’s face flushed once more. “Oh, well, I meant I can watch over you. I have had omegas approach me before during heat. I never wavered on them.”

“Are you sure you can do such a thing?” Keith asked. The heat was building. All of his senses were sharpened. 

The prince smelled strong, but it was enticing. 

Lance cleared his throat. “You asked me to trust you, so now I ask that you trust me.”

Keith lifted his robe to cover his flushed face. “It’s not my trust in you I question, prince, it’s myself.”

Footsteps. The alpha’s smell surrounded Keith. Lance grabbed Keith’s wrist and lowered his cloak to see his face. 

That smile again. 

“Have you fallen for my charm, pretty ruby?”

Keith felt like he was choking on Lance’s scent. But, like the prince’s hold on his throat, Keith wasn’t afraid of this scent. He wanted to suffocate in it. 

“I don’t know,” Keith admitted. “You’re the first I’ve…”

Lance chuckled and pulled Keith close, other hand wrapped around his waist. “Are you trying to seduce me by being coy? Shy? You’re a thief, a criminal, but you’re acting so sweet, so innocent. I feel you must have a good heart. You did save me afterall.” 

Keith whined and stared up at Lance. “I...I could kill someone during heat, I could kill you. I haven’t, though. I’m neither good nor bad. Leave.”

“I won’t,” Lance affirmed. 

“No?” Keith took a deep breath. “Then what if I do want you in my nest, alpha?”

The prince’s eyes flashed. He leaned down and captured Keith’s lips in full. Keith melted into the kiss. He pulled his arm away from the prince’s hold only to wrap them around his neck. Their kiss deepened and the prince moved his hands to Keith’s thighs lifting his legs. Keith locked them around Lance’s hips and felt a thrill as he was pressed against the frame of the window. 

The alpha held Keith tight as he devoured Keith’s mouth. Keith’s hands moved to ruffle the prince’s hair as he desperately tried to keep up. Keith wasn’t experienced. A few times when he was young he thought he’d met another he could settle down with in this poor neighborhood, but he either misread them or misread himself. Everyone else rejected him when they learned of his connections with the underground and his ins at the castle. He was dangerous. 

Perhaps they were right. He had somehow managed to get the future king in his grasp. 

Lance pulled from Keith’s lips and traced kisses down his neck. Keith leaned back, pleasure like a feather moved across his body from the touches. He held onto Lance’s neck once more and reached up to try and steady himself as the prince’s lips grazed across a sensitive spot and sucked a mark into it. His grip closed in on the curtain and he pulled it down with force adding the light of the night sky into his tower top room. 

The prince pulled away and looked up at Keith. Keith knew the view beyond this window of desert and stars was beautiful, but it was far more beautiful reflected in this alpha’s eyes. 

“A-are you sure you can control yourself, prince?” Keith teased feeling his heart rate quicken.

Lance growled low in his throat. He grabbed Keith’s face with one hand, squishing his fingers into his cheeks. “I can, but with you it will be a fight. Choose now and don’t tease me.”

Keith squeezed his thighs around Lance’s hips. He could feel the alpha’s crotch, could feel the tip of his interest just where his hips sat. Oh, he wanted to tease, he’d never wanted to tease so much. He had never _wanted_ so much. He let out a breath before answering. 

“If you will be gentle then I would ask that you bring me to my nest,” Keith said. “However, know I have no collar.”

The prince’s eyes widened for a moment. It took him only a moment to consider before a soft smile pulled at his lips. “I will take responsibility.”

Keith was confused. “You don’t have to do such a thing.”

Lance shook his head. “I _will_ take responsibility. Will you have me?”

“If you will,” Keith agreed. 

Lance kissed him once more. It started sweetly, but quickly became as ravinish as the last kiss. Still holding Keith, Lance moved to the nest in the middle of the room and lowered Keith down into it. 

Keith’s nest smelled musty. He hadn’t had time to air it out as he preferred to do in the hours before his heat hit. However, the prince’s scent quickly took over and mingled with Keith’s growing sweetness. Keith thought they smelt like the candy maker’s home in the wee hours of the morning when he prepared fresh batches. It was warm, sweaty, and sweet in a way that used to excite Keith as a child when he would steal a handful he assumed had purposefully been left out for him. 

The kisses melted into touches, hands sliding beneath robes leaving Keith bare beneath the prince. Keith gained the courage to attack back being rough with the expensive clothing Lance wore. Keith was hungry to taste the tanned skin beneath and left his marks on the prince’s skin. 

The prince allowed it. He chuckled and encouraged Keith’s reactions with teasing words. 

“You’re so enthusiastic for someone so unsure.”

Keith bit hard on the Prince’s shoulder and leaned back as Lance went for his pants. “I’m afraid I might be hallucinating. I’m just a street rat. You’re going to be king.”

“I don’t care about any of that,” Lance said, finally having Keith completely naked. “You’re beautiful, smart, and kind and I want you.”

“I don’t know where to go from here,” Keith admitted.

“You don’t have to do anything,” Lance assured him.

The prince trailed his hands along Keith’s legs and settled between them. His eyes roamed Keith’s sex with an admiration the omega found embarrassing and so he reached a hand out for the prince. Lance moved his attention away and took Keith’s hand in his locking their fingers together. He leaned down for a kiss to Keith’s lips then pulled away to leave small red bites over Keith’s chest. 

Lance’s tongue moved across Keith’s nipples making the omega gasp with unknown pleasure. He’d played with them himself during the throws of his heat, but it was so much better when it was someone else. The prince teased them into sharp points then sucked until Keith was squirming, shifting his hips, grabbing at the sheets of his nest. 

“You’re so vocal,” Lance said when he moved off Keith’s nipples and trailed down his stomach only to tease Keith’s cock.

Keith screamed when he was encased in the wet warmth of the prince’s mouth. His hands went to Lance’s hair, pulling at it as he tried not to buck his hips up. He bit his lip to keep his moans down. Usually, he tried to be very quiet, but he was with an alpha who could fight for him if another came to challenge. 

Lance pulled off his cock. “No, Keith, don’t be quiet. I want to know just how good this all feels for you.”

“Prince...how about you?” Keith asked. 

“Me? I’m trying hard not to come undone already. You might not be bathed in the oils and soaps of the castle, but I’ve never seen someone sexier,” Lance preened and went back to licking Keith’s cock. 

Sexy? Was he? Keith had been told a hundred times he had a pretty face, but his body was kept mostly a secret. He kept himself covered and in the shadows, but his skin was still littered with cuts and toned from the hard life he lived. His skin was also oddly pale as he couldn’t tan and stayed away from the sun on principle. Was that sexy to a prince?

“Ah-ah,” Keith moaned, feeling heat coil in his stomach, but a quick squeeze of Lance’s hand around his dick stopped it. 

“Ohh, about to cum? Can you wait until I’m in you?” the prince asked and teased Keith’s tip with his thumb. 

“I...I don’t know,” Keith answered truthfully. He never tried to keep himself from cumming.

Lance leaned down and licked Keith’s dribbling tip. It distracted Keith enough he didn’t realize Lance’s fingers were at the folds of his omega hole until he was pressing one inside. 

“N-no!” Keith moaned and for a split second he saw only white. He settled back down feeling tired, but nowhere close to being done. 

Keith glanced down at the prince between his legs. Lance’s face was covered in his cum. Keith was mortified as Lance wiped it away with his own discarded clothing. 

Keith had cum on the next king’s face. 

“I’m sorry. Oh..I…” Keith tried to scramble, but was held down by Lance’s hands on his thighs and instead of fingers pressing into his cunt, it was the prince’s face, the prince’s tongue. “Ah!”

The prince opened Keith up with enthusiasm. His tongue had Keith squirming and his protests quieted to moans when he finally understood Lance wanted nothing more than to continue, not irked in the least. 

“You taste as good as you smell,” the prince said and littered Keith’s thighs with red marks. “I wish you had oils, but you’re sopping. Have you ever been this wet before?”

Keith shook his head. He didn’t really know. He had not had more than his fingers inside his cunt or ass. Lance kissed and licked over that hole, too, before sliding his fingers back into Keith’s cunt. 

“I’d slip in so smoothly right now if I wasn’t so big,” Lance said as he stretched Keith out with his fingers. 

“Big?” Keith asked, trying to make sense of how many fingers were inside him. He’d only used two before and his fingers weren’t as long as the princes. This felt like three? Maybe four? 

Lance pulled his fingers out and went for his pants. He pulled them off leaving him completely naked except his earrings and gold bangles. Keith took in his frame, but his eyes widened when he saw the alpha’s cock. It was almost purple with how hard it was, precum dribbling from the uncut tip. Lance stroked himself a few times as if showing off and his scent grew richer. 

“Like what you see?” Lance asked. 

Keith turned his stare back to Lance’s face. He was shaking slightly both from the pleasure and the fear that _that_ could be entering him any second. However, there was only one answer and Keith wanted to be truthful. 

“Yes.”

The prince looked surprised, but smiled, a lopsided smile, still a little smug. 

It tugged at Keith’s heart. 

So this was his type, the kind of alpha Keith was willing to spread his legs for. All it took was a kind heart and a smug smile. It didn’t hurt that the prince was handsome or that he was a prince. That wasn’t what made Lance his type, but Keith had certainly reached farther than he should have ever been allowed for his first time. He wouldn’t dream of this being his only bed mate, but for now he wanted this. 

Lance pressed in. 

The prince had looked huge, but he felt even larger inside. Keith wouldn’t describe his discomfort as pain, but the sensation took his breath away. He tried not to clamp down on Lance, but his heat encouraged him to do anything to get the alpha to cum. 

“You’re doing good, but you’re too eager,” Lance said as he finally bottomed out. He pushed Keith’s hair away from his face as he awaited Keith to adjust. 

“Feels...big,” Keith stuttered. 

Lance chuckled. “Thank you.”

The prince leaned in to steal a kiss and slowly started rocking in and out of Keith. It felt surreal and Keith held Lance around his shoulders as he kissed back. His body wanted him to beg, though, and Keith found himself rocking back, using his thighs to pull Lance in further. The alpha pulled away. 

“It looks like you want it harder, Keith,” Lance said. 

Keith took in a shuddered breath at getting caught. “Y-yes, I wish you’d do more.”

Lance’s eyes flashed and Keith could feel Lance’s excitement twitching inside him. He grabbed one of Keith’s legs and put it on his shoulder while he reached out with his other hand for Keith’s throat. The prince pressed lightly avoiding Keith’s windpipes, but it was still enough to make it hard for Keith to breath. Keith placed one hand on Lance’s arm, but didn’t try to pull his hand away. 

“You...you would look so pretty with a black collar. Had I met you before, I would have made you my pet, Keith. You wouldn’t have liked it, though. Instead, I’ll get you a necklace of rubies and diamonds. I can imagine you in just that with sheer fabrics showing your pretty red nipples and your muscles and the curve of your hips.” The prince’s voice dipped lower. “The roundness of your pregnant belly.”

Keith gasped and the prince pressed against his throat harder. His thighs shook as the alpha pounded into him, fucked him, opened him up so he could be bred. And Keith let him. 

Part of Keith starved for the image the prince laid out. His voice trembled when he replied, “I’ll...take care of everything...just give it to me, alpha.”

“You’ll take care of everything?” Lance asked and he faltered in his movements. 

Before Keith could explain, Lance had pulled out and flipped Keith over. He pressed Keith’s face against the bottom of his nest and held his waist up before slamming into him as his knot began to grow. His movements were rough but precise and Keith moaned at the motion even through the spike of fear he felt. 

“You don’t seem to understand, Keith the Ruby, the thief,” Lance growled and leaned over Keith, leaned closer to the back of his neck. His words tickled and Keith shivered as excitement welled up inside him. 

_Please, Please, Please_ , his mind chanted. He wished it, but didn’t dare ask, he was still scared.

“I said I would take responsibility, Keith.”

There was a knife Keith’s father had given him. It was always within Keith’s reach. He could reach out for it now, still of sound enough mind to protect himself. He didn’t. He knew what responsibility meant, but he had wanted to give the prince an out. Keith’s fingers itched for his dagger, but instead he simply braced himself for the bite. 

It came as soon as Lance’s knot locked. 

Keith shivered and squeezed down on the prince’s knot causing him to whine as his teeth were still dug into Keith’s neck. A few shallow thrusts and he was cumming into Keith, breeding Keith, full. Keith shivered and squeezed more before cumming himself. Lance finally let go of his neck and licked up the blood. 

Keith felt tired. He could barely speak. Still, as he stared off into nothing and laid there knotted and mated, he asked once more, “You won’t take it back, will you?”

Lance kissed the back of Keith’s head. “Take it back? I don’t regret this, why would I ever regret mating you. You made a prince fall in love with you in one afternoon.”

Keith turned his head, eyes wide. “You love me?”

Lance kissed him again then wrapped his arms around Keith and maneuvered them on the side so he could hold Keith closer still locked inside of him. “I do. I love you, Keith.”

Foolish. An absolute fool, the both of them. 

Keith smiled and cuddled back against his alpha already excited for his next wave that night. He would get to spend it with his mate, not just an alpha. 

So stupid. 

“I love you, too, Lance.”

  
  


🜟

Keith stirred to wake with reluctance. He blinked his eyes not wanting all that happened the night before to be just a dream. Heats broke quicker when shared with a partner, but even quicker with a mate and his body was humming peacefully with satisfaction, but there was something wrong. When Keith finally opened his eyes, it was mid-morning and bright in his tower room. The warmth next to him was still asleep, the prince’s chest rising and falling spread out in Keith’s nest. Keith smiled down at him, touched his face lightly before finally paying attention to the warning signals in the back of his mind. 

Quietly, Keith listened. 

Footsteps. 

Heavy footsteps clanking with metal and angry. 

The footsteps of guards. 

Keith began shaking Lance away. 

“Lance, Lance, you have to wake up. Prince!”

Lance reached for Keith and grumbled, but Keith pulled away and scampered around pulling back on enough clothes to be decent and grabbing his knife. 

“Keith, what’s wrong?”

“Guards are coming,” Keith said. “We should leave.”

“What, why?” Lance asked, chuckling. “They’re just guards. I’m the prince.”

“They may not recognize you and I’m a wanted man,” Keith explained. “Get dressed.”

“I don’t understand,” Lance said. He stood up and approached Keith taking his hand and slipping his gold bangles onto Keith’s wrist. “You’re scared though, so I’ll give you these. If we get split up, tell that guard friend of yours to get you into the castle. They were a gift from Allura, everyone knows I wear them. I’ll make sure to tell the council I mated and to be on the lookout for you.”

Keith nodded not sure whether that was a good idea, but he wanted something to remember his mate by either way. “Get dressed.”

The prince barely had his pants on before hooks were thrown into the windows of the tower and guards rushed in. Keith thought they had more time. Had they been lying in wait? That made no sense, Keith must have been so induced by his heat, he hadn’t registered them until it was too late. 

They came down on Keith hard. He was pressed to the ground, a growl ripping from both his own throat and Lance’s. A bag came out and covered the prince’s face and he soon went limp. It had been filled with sleeping powder. 

“Lance!” Keith yelled. 

“Don’t get comfortable with our prince, you kidnapper,” one of the guards chided and smacked Keith with his sword. 

A larger guard moved forward and kneeled before Keith. He grabbed his face and grinned. He was a hairy man, a bad man amongst those who were supposed to protect the laws, one Keith had run from many times before. 

“Sendak,” Keith growled. 

“I finally caught you, Ruby,” Sendak grinned. “Who knew it would only take our prince sneaking out to catch you. Never took you for an omega especially one weak to such despicable charms. Could have kept you as a pet if I’d known, but I loathe you too much. Besides, I’m not interested in someone else’s marked goods. No, I have another use for you.”

Keith spit at the guard’s face. 

Sendak’s expression darkened. He slapped Keith across the face and stood. “Bag him. Haggar needs him alive.”

Then Keith was treated to his own bag of sleep powder. 

He wished Lance would be safely returned at least.

🜟

When Keith next woke, it was to the bright light of the sun against the golden sands of the desert. He could make out nothing but the blue empty sky and the never ending sands. Around him was a group of robed figures with a camel and horses and Sendak with a couple guards. One of the guards caught Keith's eyes and turned to Sendak.

“The rat's awake,” the guard said.

Sendak turned to Keith. He reached down and grabbed Keith by his hair and pulled him to his knees. Keith was too weak to fight back, but still gritted his teeth at the treatment. 

“Well aren’t you a beautiful sight in the mornings. You should see yourself, all bruised and beaten. Whether that’s from us dragging you out here on the back of a horse or from what you let that alpha do to you no one will ever know,” Sendak growled. “Disgusting.”

“Sendak,” came the croaking voice of an older woman. “I need him functioning, please.”

Sendak growled at Keith, but pulled him over to the old woman. She stood scrunched over with a staff with glowing red crystals. Keith tried not to look at the crystal, it felt strange to him. This was a magic woman. He had heard the kingdom once had one, but she had left them to join the otherside of the foreign war. 

“Be grateful more than your pretty face has a use,” Sendak said as he threw him at the woman’s feet. 

The magic woman held out a wrinkled bony finger at Keith. “I am Haggar, once high alchemist Honerva of your kingdom. Your kingdom stole my husband in war and my son you seduced. I seek revenge.”

“I am no one,” Keith said, finding the woman’s words that of a madman. “What revenge can I give you?”

“Your kingdom has also besmirched you. You are a diamond in the rough, but no one has come to shine you. If you help me get my revenge, I will ensure the safety of one person in that city.”

Keith bit his lips. One person? He never liked getting involved in politics, but how could he choose only one person. Even with the mating mark fresh and stinging with sand on his neck, he couldn’t choose. 

“You do not have to name them, we already know it’s our prince,” Sendak said. 

“He’s not _your_ prince, traitor,” Keith growled, rage building in him in hot red currants, “You are not allowed to hurt him.”

A slap crossed Keith’s face again. “Do you think you can command me?”

“Enough, Sendak. The boy has little choice, no need to harass him further. Listen here. You will enter a cave and touch nothing more than what I ask of you. Deep in this cave is a lamp. You will know it when you see it. Come back out with it and I will guarantee the safety of both you and your prince. Without it you will be killed instantly. Do I make myself clear?” Haggar asked. 

Keith looked around. He didn’t see a cave. But, if it was a cave, all he needed to do was survive in the cave and find a second way out or wait until they got tired of waiting for him. Keith knew how to survive. 

“Fine,” Keith agreed. He wouldn’t help Haggar steal this lamp for whatever it was good for, he wouldn’t help her destroy his kingdom or what he knew Lance wanted to make of it. “I’ll go into the cave. In return you _won’t_ touch Prince Lance.”

Haggar grinned. It was a sharp tooth grin much too large for her skinny haggard face. “Good.”

Haggar then tapped her staff against the sand and the ground began to vibrate. From a mound not far from them rose a lion’s face within the gold sand. It’s jaw unhinged to provide entrance into a rocky cavern. 

The guards tugged Keith over to it, barely letting him get to his feet. Keith didn’t have time to look back before he was thrown in. The lion’s mouth closed halfway. From outside, Haggar called to him. 

“If you prove to truly be nothing more than a ruby, do not bother returning. Only a diamond in the rough will find the lamp.”

Keith felt himself shaking but still found the strength to walk. Each step burned like the rock of the cavern was made of fire and it was long and unending. Soon ores and gems began to poke out of the stone and they mesmerized Keith, but he did not slow or reach out to touch them. His throat felt dry, heat still pulsed mildly through his veins, but still he walked at the same steady pace. 

Treasures began to fill cracks in the rock. At first it was just gold, but soon polished gems and jewelry showed bright. Keith held tight to the bangles on his wrist surprised they hadn’t been taken from him, though it did appear he’d lost one. Then there were chests and furniture so fine Keith wondered if they could even be used. 

And the ground grew hotter. 

Keith stepped on tiptoes as he continued careful to not even touch the coins that laid in his path with his feet. Magic was one thing he would not mess with. His father had warned him of that, one of the only lessons he remembered from the man he only knew to be gentle. 

He wished he had something more than his thin soled slippers, torn and resewn hundreds of times, to protect his feet. 

Dresses and fabrics began to appear. Then mirrors after mirrors, some reflecting Keith as he passed, others something beyond Keith’s comprehension. Keith ignored them and continued. 

He wished for water and food and a bed to rest. 

Quilts and spreads of bread and cheese, of fruits and meats, appeared fresh and ready as he walked the next section. Bottles of wine and ale nestled nearby. Keith’s stomach rumbled, but the heat in his system gave him the strength to ignore it. 

It was the water that gave Keith pause. 

A whole river appeared before him blocking his path. It was the clearest water Keith had ever seen, but it sat completely still. Certainly a natural formation like this couldn’t be untouchable. Keith crouched down and reached out with his cloak to test if the water was tampered with, but something flashed before him causing him to step back. 

There was a bark. 

Keith looked across the water, only a jump away, and saw a dog like no other. It was large and blue with markings on it’s long fur. But, it didn’t look quite solid. A magic dog? A wolf?

Keith ignored it and reached again for the water. The wolf jumped at him and Keith avoided it.

“Are you telling me not to drink the water?” Keith asked. 

The wolf barked and kicked a stone. It splashed into the water and a sizzle could be heard as the stone melted. The water rippled then stilled once more.

“Thank you, dog,” Keith said. He needed to jump over the water then. As he got ready to do so the water burst up in geisers. “Huh, well I suppose jumping won’t work. I wish I had another way across.”

Vines suddenly fell from the cavern and began to form a bridge across. Keith turned to the wolf. The wolf kicked another stone and the bridge collapsed. 

“Thought so. How else do I make it across? I just want to get to my mate. I don’t care about any of the treasures in here.”

The wolf whined and pawed at the ground near Keith. Keith smiled at it. 

“Are you worried? You’re making it hard for me not to pet you, but if I do I feel something bad will happen.”

Keith tried to look for a way around the water, but he always ended back on the same side of the water. 

“It must be a trick. It looks like I’ll have to touch something, but it has to be something that will get me across.” Keith began to look around, but, once again, his eyes landed on the wolf. “Is it you?”

The wolf barked happily and ran in circles around Keith. 

Keith reached out his hands towards the wolf. “Will you carry me somewhere safe? As safe as you can get me will do. Even just across this water pool is enough.”

The wolf eagerly ran into Keith’s arms. He was soft and warm, but more than that, Keith couldn’t describe as the cave roared with anger and he was whisked off into a space so cold he couldn’t even breath. Then, Keith found himself on a cliff looking down at the water pool. The cave continued to shake in anger. Keith continued to hold onto the wolf. 

“What now? I know I’m no diamond in the rough, but what was I supposed to do?”

The wolf whined and began to run as parts of the cave started to collapse with Keith still on his back. They ran and fazed in and out of existence until finally they came to a small island in another pool of water. In the middle of the island, a curtain of vines hid something shiny. The moment Keith stepped onto the island, the roaring of the cavern stopped. He approached slowly with occasional glances back at the wolf. The wolf looked apprehensive, but never stopped Keith. Keith reached the vines and pushed through them finally seeing what they hid. 

A gold decorated lamp, dusted with age, sat on a marble pedestal all alone in the middle of the ivy curtains. Keith’s eyes widened and he reached out for the lamp only for the vines around him to wrap around his arms and legs. He screamed and more moved across his body and beneath his loose clothing like slithering snakes, slimy from the cave’s dampness. 

It felt disgusting. 

They tightened and pulled, tightened and pulled, and slithered across his sensitive skin. Small thorns on the vines cut into his skin, but the small pricks both stung and reached deep into the lingering post heat still affecting his body. 

Keith hated it. 

He hated this. 

This was unfair. The cavern had forced him to touch the wolf and the wolf had brought him here. Now that he was in site of something he didn’t even want but was supposed to be the only thing he could retrieve, he wasn’t being allowed. All he wanted was to live. Had mating the prince been too much? He had known it was too much, but the prince had still wanted him. He was sorry for being so weak. 

He was sorry for being just an uncut ruby and not a diamond. 

He just wished to start over. 

He wished for this all to stop. 

He needed it to stop. 

“Stop!” Keith yelled and suddenly there was a red crackling of light across his body that moved through the vines frying the ones that held him while the others flinched and moved away. Keith fell to the ground and stared at his hands as they continued to crackle with the magical light. 

Keith hid his hands beneath his knees and leaned over.

_Breath, just breath_. 

His father said to never show this power. He had said to only call on it when he couldn’t handle it. Wishes weren’t enough, you had to demand the world to do your bidding. 

The first time an alpha had found Keith during a heat, Keith had wished and begged, and then he had demanded the alpha to stop. And the alpha had. But it wasn’t just a stop. In his anger, Keith had demanded the alpha to never smell another omega again. Keith had watched the man turn and used his own sword to dig out his nose.. 

Another time, after days of dealing with his own hunger and wishing for food, he had seen a stall owner attacking two children worse off than he. He had demanded the stall owner give the children food. The stall owner did. Keith had run and hid for a week after that. 

Demand. 

No, it had been more than a demand, it had been a command. 

Keith had commanded. 

Still shaking, Keith crawled to the pedestal and quickly removed the lamp. Immediately, the cave began to shake again. Keith held the lamp close to his body. The wolf jumped through the vines and to Keith’s side teleporting them away again. The cavern stopped shaking for a moment. 

They were on another cliff, this one staring down at the pedestal where the lamp had been. Keith pulled the lamp out and examined it. There was writing, but the collected dust made it hard to read. Keith licked his thumb and tried to wipe the lamp clean. 

The lamp shook. 

Keith dropped the lamp and scooted back afraid of what horror he would have to face next. 

A purple smoke arose from the lamp. It twisted and turned, purple lightning crackling through it until it settled on the visage of a woman’s face, pointy eared, sharp but beautiful features, and marks on her cheeks. Her eyes glowed yellow as she looked down to Keith. 

“Who has disturbed the slumber of Krolia, the wish giver of the lamp? Three wishes will be granted to thee, three wishes made from greed. Speak, oh master, your name,” she said. 

A wish giver? “K-Keith.”

The woman rapidly blinked her eyes and then her all powerful visage grew smaller. The thundering cloud of smoke dissipated revealing the woman’s tall and strong figure. Her purple skin faded away to a pale complexion the likeness of which matched Keith’s. 

It wasn’t just her skin, though, that Keith found familiar. 

“Keith,” the woman said and stared down at him like he was something precious. “Oh, my son.”

“Mom?”

The next moment, Krolia was on her knees in front of Keith pulling him into a tight hug. Keith gasped and clung to her tears in his own eyes. He barely remembered this woman, only that so much of himself looked like her according to his father. 

“My son, my boy, how did you get here?” Krolia asked as she looked over Keith, patting every part of him and frowning when she saw the cuts and bruises. 

“It’s such a long story, I don’t even know where to start, I...how are you here, why are you here. Who..who are you?” Keith asked. 

Krolia sighed and cupped Keith’s face. “For now, I’m your mother. As for this…”

The cave began to shake. The wolf whined and cuddled up to them both. Krolia placed a hand on the wolf’s head. 

“We should leave,” Krolia said. 

“How do we get out? Can the dog shift us out?” Keith asked. 

“He could if he knew what out was,” Krolia said. “Kosmo here has never left this cave.”

“Then how?”

Krolia looked at Keith sadly. “A wish, my boy. Your wish.”

“Then I wish for us to leave and go somewhere safe,” Keith said. 

Krolia smiled and grabbed both Keith and the wolf. “Your wish is my command.”

It took only a breath for Keith to be once again in the light of the desert sun. They had arrived in a small oasis. Through the trees Keith could see the sun and guessed a whole day had gone by at least. He took a deep breath and twirled around in the fresh air before finally looking for Krolia. His mother sat on a rock playfully ruffling the fur of the teleporting wolf. When she felt Keith looking, she turned and smiled at him. 

“Hello, my boy, it’s good to see you,” she said. 

Keith fell to his knees and laid his head in her lap. “Mom.”

Krolia stroked his hair. “It appears you’ve had a rough life. I’m not surprised. When your father wished me away, I had the thought I might never see either of you again.”

Keith looked up at her. “What do you mean? Father...I don’t know what happened to him. He went to continue working as a travelling merchant, but the roads were dangerous so he left me with an aunty. I was eight.”

“And how old are you now?” Korlia asked. 

“Nineteen.”

Krolia let out a sigh. 

“What was that cave?” Keith asked. 

“My home, the cave of wishes.”

“I was captured and told to retrieve the lamp, but not to touch anything else. Why was I forced to touch something?” Keith asked. 

Krolia chuckled. “I call it a home, but it’s more of a prison. I am what you call a genie, Keith. I can control my cave, but I am confined to my lamp until I gain a master. Years and years and years ago a young adventurer came upon my cave and retrieved me. He was a gallant fellow, but he was killed before his third wish and so I was passed on and on and on between masters. Your father happened to rub my lamp one day. He reminded me of my first master, but far more charming and handsome. The similarities were that his wishes were pure. His first was, like yours, to save someone. Actually, it was a whole caravan that was being looted. His second was a child, our child, you. His third he planned to use to free me, but instead he wished me away back here to keep me safe from the war. Without my presence, the cave grew distressed and wild over many centuries. Finding a genie has always been meant to be difficult. It’s meant to be a trick.”

“When I would think to wish for something, it would appear,” Keith said. 

“A trick to get you to touch something, to show you were far too greedy to earn a wish.”

“There were vines, they tried to...rip me apart I suppose, it was strange. They only grew stranger the more I wished to be let go, but then...I commanded them to stop and they did. Why? It’s not the first time that has happened.”

Krolia looked at Keith startled. “You have the power to command existence?” 

Keith frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Krolia pushed Kosmo away and pulled Keith to sit beside her on the rock. “Keith, you are mortal, I knew that from the beginning, but I always assumed you were only human. I was sent away very early, I didn’t think you would develop the powers of a genie. A mortal that commands existence. You are a very powerful being.”

Krolia took Keith’s hands in hers. “My son, you are no gallant naive adventurer, you are powerful.”

“I’m not a diamond in the rough,” Keith snipped. 

Krolia chuckled. “Yes, I suppose not. You are half genie. You can make your own wishes come true, not by wishing, but by commanding. A genie is cursed to do only as their master wishes though we get to decide what exactly would befit that wish, we are still bound by that. We are also bound by three other rules. We can not create love or attraction, we can not bring back those long passed, and we can not kill as a wish though killing to make a wish come true is possible but that is up to our discretion. These are the three rules you must live by, Keith.”

“Are you telling me I can do like you did just now?” Keith asked. 

“I do believe so,” Krolia confirmed. “I brought you to this oasis as this is where I lived for many days with your father. In my opinion, this was a safe place to talk. Your wish literally became my command. Has anyone ever wished something of you?”

Keith thought for a moment. The first time he had used his powers around his father, he vaguely remembered his father wishing for things casually from him, but Keith had never felt compelled to do it and his father soon stopped. Keith wondered if the man was testing him. There certainly had been other times people had wished something of Keith and he had never felt like granting those wishes. 

“I have never granted a wish I didn’t feel like granting.”

“Fascinating,” Krolia said. “You truly have a genie’s power without the genie’s curse.”

“What does that mean?” Keith asked. 

“I’m not sure yet, but we could figure it out.”

Keith stared down at his hands, his eyes going to the golden bangles. He rubbed at them. 

“What is the matter, my boy?”

“I...there’s someone I worry for.”

“I can’t make anyone fall in love with you,” Krolia reminded. 

Keith looked startled. “Oh! No...oh, right, I have two more wishes.”

Krolia patted Keith’s hand. “Yes you do. I’m happy to see my son as my next master.”

Keith grinned but quickly went back to staring at his bracelets. “I don’t need a wish for love. I’m already mated. I’m worried about him.”

“Oh, already hitched? I shouldn’t be surprised when you have such a pretty face even if it’s roughed up. Who is this son-in-law of mine?”

Keith suddenly felt shy. “Um...it’s...his name is Lance. He’s...he’s the heir apparent.”

“The king!” Krolia truly looked surprised. “Forgive me, Keith, but I find it hard to believe you mated into the royal family when you very obviously haven’t lived even a tenth of the life I wished you had.”

Keith shook his head. “I’m just as surprised by it as you are. He escaped the castle to see what his people were like. He came to actually see us and live like us and he almost died and I saved him and...and he was wonderful.”

“Fell for a prince, I can’t say I don’t understand. How long was your affair?”

Keith bowed his head low to hide his face. “It...I went into heat a couple hours after we met. The next morning we were found and I was thrown into your cave.”

“Oh, so recently. Well, it’s probably better that it was recent. You went through something terrible to find me. If you were any further along I don’t think you would have made it.”

Keith looked at Krolia in surprise. “I’m pregnant? You can tell?”

Krolia looked surprised. “Oh, yes, a trick I learned. Genies don’t have gender, we just choose our appearance, but I learned to tell such things about people, particularly my masters. It’s a habit to try and get through the wishes faster or slower to know our master’s health.”

Keith pressed a hand to his belly. “I...I want to return to him. There are bad people in his court. Without your power in their hands, I think there’s still time before anyone outright betrays him. And if he was hurt, I’d know.” 

Keith reached back and touched the mark on his neck. 

“You would know,” Krolia assured and touched the back of her own neck. “Your father’s never quite took, but I’m not an omega.”

Keith frowned at that. So his mother was as clueless as he. “I don’t know how I’ll get into the castle, though. I’m, well, this and he’s a prince and no one would believe me if I showed up saying I was the prince’s mate especially when those in his court already know who I am.”

“I could sneak you to him with a wish,” Krolia said. 

Keith thought about that. No, simply seeing Lance wouldn’t be enough. He needed to protect Lance. 

He needed to protect Lance. 

Keith turned to Krolia. “Can you teach me? Can you teach me how to command?”

Krolia looked frightened for a moment. A million thoughts seem to race through her mind before she settled on taking Keith’s hands and bringing them to her face. 

“If you wish it, then I can only command it. Be careful how you word it, though. I do not wish to do you wrong.” 

“If I wish for that then for my third wish…”

“Anything you want, my boy. I won’t deny you anything I have the ability to give you.”

Keith thought once more. If he could do what Krolia could without the consequences of the curse then he wouldn’t need to wish for anything else. 

There was only one thing he wouldn’t be able to do. 

“Your freedom,” Keith said, “I wish…”

Krolia placed a finger on Keith’s mouth. “Not so fast, son. First, I need to teach you. Leave the third wish for then. Don’t use it hastily.”

Reluctantly, Keith nodded. “Then, I wish…”

Krolia handed Keith the lamp. “You have to rub the lamp first, protocol and all.”

Keith laughed and gave the lamp a rub. Krolia immediately became purple once again, purple thundering clouds floating around her. 

“I wish to have control and understanding of my power of command and to never have it curse me,” Keith said. 

Krolia smiled. “I understand. Your wish is my command.”

With a wave of Krolia’s hand, a building appeared, ancient beyond ancient. Krolia reached out for Keith’s hand. “I’m a spartan teacher, but it will still take a couple months.”

A couple months. 

Keith scratched at the back of his neck then touched his stomach. 

A couple months was fair. 

🜟

The castle gates were large and imposing. Keith stood small in their greatness even donned in the finest silks and jewels his imagination could conjure. He turned to his left and was met with the eyes of the teleporting wolf. Kosmo stared back with a curious tilt of his head, but reassurance nonetheless. Keith turned to his right and where he had grown used to his mother standing, he found a nameless faceless guard of his own creation. For a moment, Keith felt unsure. 

Krolia had wanted to come with Keith. However, Keith wanted to set her free as soon as possible. As soon as Keith could conjure his own army, he had spent his last wish. Though Krolia still had her magical abilities, she became a normal beta woman who would age just as Keith did. On horseback she began her travels to seek out what had happened with her unmarked mate. Keith wished her well and made plans to gain his own mate back. 

Now, Keith was here. After only a few days reconnecting with his people in the slums of the kingdom, Keith had learned that there were still potential mates arriving at the castle even with rumors that their future king was nothing more than a playboy. Who would want such a mate? Only those desperate enough for power, only those seeking it. 

Lance was fighting it, though. Shiro had told him so. Keith was happy to know those he had connections to were safe. For all Haggar and Sendak knew, Keith was dead. 

With a deep breath in, Keith finally turned to the guard on his right and nodded. The guard reached out and tapped a giant hand against the castle gate. The large doors opened slowly revealing the splendor that lay beyond. Keith had grown used to the freshness of an oasis while practicing his magic, but he had spent all his years in the desert districts of the kingdoms and still found the freshness strange. Green plants and fragrant flowers poked out of every corner of the front courtyard. Each column and doorway was created with beauty in mind. Keith took note as his large entourage was led through the castle and to the throne room. 

“Omega Prince Akira Kogane from the kingdom of Marmora here to present himself to Crown Prince Alpha Lance McClain of House Altea,” introduced a guard as he, Kosmo, and a few chosen creations made their way into the throne room. 

Seated on a grand throne with a pride of tamed lions at his feet was Lance. Keith’s breath caught seeing his mate for the first time since that sweet sensual night they’d shared. He felt himself growing red and his heart quickened it’s work. Worse of all was the wetness he felt between his legs at the mere sight of his mate. Keith could only imagine how he would react if he was greeted with a smiling happy mate instead of this stubbly, lounging, disrespectful looking prince. 

Lance didn’t get up to greet Keith. He didn’t even look up right away. He was sprawled on his throne in his fancy robes, but they were loosely tied showing his tanned skin. He wore far too much jewelry, some of it not even on him properly, and there was stubble on his face and chin, not enough to be called well kept, but far too much to simply be growth from skipping a single day of shaving. And it was patchy. Still, there was something oddly endearing about it. 

Perhaps because Lance was still handsome. 

Perhaps because Lance was Keith’s. 

After some time as Keith stood there silently, Lance looked up. Oh, his blue eyes, beautiful, but lost. Keith’s heart clenched seeing that. What did Lance think had happened to Keith? When Lance took in Keith’s form, his eyes widened before he shook himself of the thought. 

Keith did look like Keith, just cleaner, neater, more like a prince. He had a glamour just in case he ran into Sendak or any of the guards that knew him, but he had made it light particularly around Lance. It was a bit selfish, but he wanted to know if his mate would know it was him. 

Now with his mate’s eyes on him, Keith bowed. Kosmo and the rest of his entourage followed suit. “Your highness, I have come today from far off to present myself to you.”

Lance looked Keith over. He looked distrustful, but sat up straighter on his throne and shifted his robes around before addressing Keith. “You are a beautiful prince, far too beautiful, but I’m afraid you have come all this way for nothing. Have you not heard I refuse to take a mate?”

Keith smiled. “Is that the truth of it? The rumors I’ve heard are about how much of a playboy you are. They say you’ve disgusted every suitor that called on you. If it is your refusal, I feel I can change your mind.”

Lance’s face hardened. “My mind will not be changed.”

_Oh Lance, do you truly love me that much?_

Beside Lance, his advisor, Coran, and General Sendak both made a move to talk with him. Coran spoke first. 

“My prince, we really must find you a mate. At least listen to the young man’s words. I think he might be a good match.”

“It would be good to see what he has to offer,” Sendak said. “You can not rightfully take the throne until you’re able to produce true heirs.”

Lance mumbled something that made Keith hold back a whine of protest before turning back to Keith. “Prince Akira, is it? Where is Marmora anyways. I’ve never seen it on any of the maps I’ve studied.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t,” Keith answered coolly. “Marmora is a new kingdom and a small one. Not only that, but I am the only prince. Such a mating would lead to your kingdom gaining a small kingdom and more citizens, however, my kingdom is in a strategically advantageous spot for travelling and commerce. We are also a kingdom built from war and get most of our own income from weapon exports. We are but a small oasis near mountains, but our soil is rich in ores.”

Sendak seemed pleased. Coran appeared to consider. Lance looked bored. 

Marmora didn’t exist. It could with a simple snap of Keith’s fingers, but Keith was lying. He had thought to make the kingdom, but figured there wouldn’t be a need to once Lance found out he was just Keith. Once Advisor Coran learned that Lance had mated already and was expecting heirs, the man, as a good friend of the past king, would not allow for anything other than their recognition. There could only be civil war if anyone disagreed and Keith would win. 

“I invite you to visit Marmora anyday, my prince,” Keith said. “I know a place with both a view of the kingdom and a view of the stars.”

Lance looked startled for a moment then narrowed his eyes. He mumbled about already having such a place and that Marmora couldn’t exist, but did not voice his doubts. “Alright, perhaps I will one day.”

Coran looked pleased with that and clapped his hands. “My prince, we must prepare you for tonight’s party. Let us excuse ourselves. Prince Akira. We will have maids bring you to a room and your gifts will be taken care of and presented to the prince later.”

Keith agreed and let himself be whisked away. 

It was only a few hours later that Keith found himself lost and nervous at a banquet. Though Lance looked miserable in his throne, the party itself was lively. Many of the court tried to talk to Keith, but he had already created a guard to filter questions and staying close to Kosmo allowed him to move about with ease. If someone found out he had a magic wolf, Keith felt that was better than them finding out about his magic. Plus, he wanted to know where Lance’s room was. He found his own teleporting powers worked just as well as the wolf’s but he was still working on them. 

Three months wasn’t very much time to cram in how to command every part of existence. There were still a few things Keith needed work on. 

Eventually, Keith managed to slip out into the halls and made his way to where he remembered Lance saying they were from that night. Footsteps echoed down the hall and Keith showed Kosmo away for the wolf to find the prince’s room while Keith stayed out here ready to deter any interference. He was surprised when it was the prince himself that appeared. 

“You! What are you doing near my rooms?” the prince shouted. 

Keith looked at him in surprise. “Is that where I am?”

“Don’t play like you’re lost. How did you get here? I’m not above sicking a lion on another prince.”

Keith shuffled nervously wondering how long Kosmo would take to find Lance’s bed. “Well, I...my wolf ran this way.”

“That large thing always beside you?” Lance asked. “I’m surprised he’s not leashed.”

“He’s very tame, just playful,” Keith said. “You see, I’m not very good with parties. He ran to get me to play as a distraction.”

“Really? You said everything my advisors wanted to hear earlier.”

Keith reached for a strand of his hair, tugging it. “Large crowds of strangers are far easier to talk to than those you have to individually impress at parties. I’ve never been good at socializing, no amount of magic can change that.”

It was true. It was the one thing he had worried over when coming up with his battle strategy and Krolia was no help. 

“But you can lead?”

Keith nodded. “But I can lead.”

Lance frowned and looked Keith over again. 

From behind them there was yelling. A maid appeared to have disobeyed in some way and a guard was hovered over her holding a baton and yelling. Without thinking, Keith hurried over and stood before the maid. 

“Who are you to punish this poor girl?” Keith growled at the guard. 

“She dumped water on my shoes. I'm a royal guard. I have a higher status than her. She needs to know her place.”

“You’re just a guard, royal or not,” Keith argued. 

The guard made to snap at Keith with the baton, but stopped seeing how he was dressed. “I would stay out of this little omega lord.” 

Keith wrinkled his nose and instinctively took a stance to fight reaching behind him for his knife.

“That’s enough,” Lance yelled. “That is my maid and my suitor you are raising your voice to.”

The guard turned to Lance still standing a ways off in the hallway and grew red. “Your majesty, my apologies. It is dark, she is not dressed like your other maids.”

“She is a caretaker of my lions. You should be honored to be doused in the water they are given,” Lance said. “Now apologize to both and get back to your post. I will speak to Sendak about your position tomorrow.”

The guard looked scared, but grumbled out apologies to both Keith and the maid before running off to his proper post. 

Keith turned to the maid and held out a hand. “You take care of the lions? They are beautiful creatures. Have more pride in your position and those around you won’t belittle you so much. And if they do, well knitting needles work as well as a knife.”

The maid looked surprised, but giggled and thanked Keith before scurrying away with her water bucket. 

“Keith?”

Keith couldn’t help but jump hearing the name. He turned back to Lance, the troubled look on the prince’s face breaking his heart, but still he did not let him know just yet. “Did you call me, my prince?”

“I’m not...your prince,” Lance said and his hands tightened into fists. 

Oh, but Lance was. Keith wasn’t quite as eloquent as to know what else to call Lance. “You could be.”

The prince looked Keith over again and the longing in his eyes hurt. 

“If only,” Lance sighed. “You just look like someone that was dear to me. I wondered for a brief moment if you were him.”

Keith lifted a hand to his chest then down where he could feel his baby bump forming. It wasn’t super obvious, but he had made sure to keep that part of his stomach and his neck covered. 

“Perhaps you should dream about that person, Prince Lance. I was told if you dream about a person it keeps them close to you.”

“And who said that?” Lance asked. 

Keith smiled softly. “My father.”

“And yet he sent you here to marry?” Lance asked. 

Keith shook his head. “No, there are no other royals. I am only me and what I brought. But, I think that’s enough to win your heart, my prince.”

Lance’s face hardened. “I won’t fall for you.”

Keith didn’t need him to, they were already in love. 

Behind Lance, Kosmo suddenly appeared. “Oh, there he is. Kosmo, come here. You can’t play here.”

Keith pushed past Lance and grabbed the wolf by his scruff pulling him along and around the corner. 

“Wait!” Lance called out, but Keith had already urged Kosmo to return them to the party. 

🜟

It was the middle of the night when Keith rose from his guest bed in nothing more than a sheer lace poncho like garment, completely naked beneath. His toes touched the cold floor with little noise and he grabbed for the belt he kept his knife on wrapping that around his waist closing the fabric in only a slightly more appropriate way. He tiptoed to the large bed servants had brought for Kosmo and ruffled the wolf’s fur. Kosmo whined and turned in bed. A moment later he opened his eyes and looked at Keith.

“Are you ready, Kosmo?” Keith asked the dog ruffling up his fur then tightly hugged the wolf’s neck. 

The next second, Keith found himself flopped onto a soft surface. It took him a moment to realize Kosmo had not just brought Keith to Lance’s rooms, but straight to his bed. There was shifting beside Keith from a sleeping figure. Immediately, Keith moved to straddle the figure. The figure held something that glinted silver in the moonlight coming through the opened windows. They slashed at Keith with it. Keith was quick to retrieve his own knife and block the attack. 

“Who are you?” the figure demanded. 

“My prince, please put the knife down. You won’t win against me, I promise,” Keith said. 

“My prince…” Lance muttered. “K-no, Prince Akira? Is this some kind of assassination attempt?”

Keith sighed. “No, my prince. I always keep a knife on me. I’ll put it away, just don’t come at me with yours.”

Having a knife so close irked Keith even if it was Lance holding it, but he slipped his own back in it’s sheath at his belt then held up his hands. “I mean you no harm.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Lance asked and pressed his knife to Keith’s neck instead of lowering it. 

Keith didn’t flinch. “It’s not an assassination attempt, it’s a seduction attempt, my prince.”

The knife poked into Keith’s neck harder. “How did you get past my guards?”

A soft growl came from the background. 

“Are you going to threaten me to mate you?” Lance asked. 

“Kosmo, leave. Keep watch,” Keith directed with a wave of his hand and the presence of the wolf was gone.

“How? Wait,” the prince said and dropped his knife only to grab the wrist of the hand Keith had waved with. 

Lance’s grip was rough and it hurt. Keith hissed as Lance forced it into the moonlight so he could see the bangles on Keith’s wrist, the only piece of jewelry Keith had worn to bed. “Where did you get these?”

“Why?” Keith asked. “Do they look familiar?”

“I...there’s no way. Sendak brought me one back. I knew...he didn’t feel dead, but he couldn’t…”

The prince’s grip loosened. Keith used that to slide his wrist away and grab Lance’s hands instead. He gently brought one to his face and the other to the back of his neck where his mating bite was. Lance’s fingers weren’t gentle touching the scar and Keith bit back a moan. 

“You’re mated,” Lance said and his other hand was quick to map out Keith’s face. “Keith?”

Lance’s hands continued to move along Keith’s body. At first they shook trying to find things that were real, Keith’s hands, his neck, his face and ears. Then they began to grope, finding things much more familiar to the alpha and Keith couldn’t help but moan softly as long fingers slid beneath the fabric of his night clothes and slid along his holes, stroked his dick, pinched his nipples. Finally, Lance found the rounded pudge that stood out from his otherwise toned body. 

Lance gasped. 

Keith carefully placed his hand over Lance’s. “It’s been three long months. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

The prince didn’t answer. He surged forward and brought Keith in for a kiss. It was desperate and dirty and Keith purred enjoying the touch of his mate after so long apart. When Lance began to grope Keith again, Keith reluctantly pulled away. 

“Keith, how, why, I don’t understand...I...are you real? I want you so badly.”

Keith chuckled and placed a finger to Lance’s lips when he tried to kiss him again. “One moment, my prince. Let’s talk first and then your wish is my command.”

Lance continued to touch Keith, his eyes not quite looking at him in the dark. “Let me see you, Keith. I want to see you properly.”

“That I can do,” Keith said and snapped his fingers. Small globes of light made a halo around Lance’s bed giving him just enough to see Keith. 

“It is you,” Lance said in awe. 

Keith leaned in and pecked Lance once on the lips. “It is.”

“Why couldn’t I...how did I not know?” Lance asked. 

“Magic,” Keith said. “I couldn’t have your court seeing me, especially not Sendak.”

“He brought back one of my bangles. Sendak said they took you for kidnapping, but you ran into the desert and that was all they found of you. I didn’t believe them, I could feel you were still alive, but Sendak was always watching me so I stopped hoping you would return. It was torture not to know what happened to you.”

Keith cupped Lance’s face. He couldn’t help touching his mate now even if the stubble was prickly across his skin “I can see you’ve missed me. I am so sorry for not returning sooner, but I needed to plan. Sendak brought me to a magic woman. She was named Honerva, but they called her Haggar.”

Lance’s eyes widened. “She was the mother of the boy Allura ran off with. She was angry about that. Of course she would want revenge.”

“She took me to a cave and told me to bring her a lamp that laid inside. But, the lamp belonged to a genie and I escaped with that genie.”

“A genie?” Lance asked, amazed. 

“They are no longer a genie. They...they were my mother, Lance. My...my prince, I have magic.” Keith shifted on Lance. He could feel his alpha’s cock below his hips and gave a little shake so Lance could share in his excitement. “I can make anything you dream of come true. Wish for anything!”

Lance looked up at Keith adoringly. “I don’t understand what you mean, but what could I possibly wish for?”

Keith laughed. “You hear I’m the son of a genie and you don’t understand? I’m not confined to a bottle and I’ll age with you, but I have power, Lance, power you’ll never understand. I was away for so long so I could learn to use that power, use it and come back to you.”

“So you’re a genie? Do I get three wishes?”

Keith sighed and placed a hand on Lance’s chest. “My prince, shall I grant you three wishes? Make them.”

Lance hummed and roamed his hands along Keith’s body. “I wish you were mine.”

Keith clicked his tongue and brought Lance’s hand to the back of his neck again where the mating bite was. “Granted. Next wish?”

“I wish for you to bear my children.”

Keith brought Lance’s other hand back to his stomach. “Granted, twice over.”

Lance’s eyes sparkled at that. “I wish for nothing more than to be buried deep inside you.”

Keith shifted his hips on Lance’s lap and whispered, “Your wish is my command, my prince.” 

Lance pulled at Keith’s neck, fingers digging into the bite mark there making Keith whine. Their lips pressed together, stealing his breath, but it felt like Keith was breathing for the first time in months. As their tongues entwined, Keith found nothing he could conjure tasted as sweet as his mate’s mouth. When Lance’s hands roamed his body and removed the belt with his knife and the thin sheath of fabric that was his nightwear, Keith knew he had never been as safe and warm. 

Keith’s body heated up. He pressed the folds of his omega cunt down on Lance’s lengths soaking the prince’s night pants. Keith moved a hand and stroked his own dick as he looked at his mate in the glow of his lights. Lance growled and shifted his hips with Keith’s. His cheeks were flushed, eyes glazed and Keith knew his own expression mirrored that look. He tilted his head and let Lance growl into his neck as the prince nibbled and kissed down the skin, pale even after his time in the oasis. Lance left marks, each one hot on Keith’s skin. Each one making it very obvious who Keith rode in the dark of night. 

Lance’s hands moved to Keith’s chest. He pressed his palms to Keith’s pecs feeling their strength and groping then moved his thumbs to roll against Keith’s nipples. Keith moaned and arched his back unconsciously wanting to look more enticing to his mate with the parts of him that were sensitive. Lance took up the invitation. He licked and teased one nipple with his teeth until it was hard and soaked then moved to the other, sucking on it as his hands roamed further down. 

There was barely a sign of Keith’s pregnancy showing, but he was having twins so the small pudge on his otherwise sculpted abdomen made his virtue questionable. Lance’s hand roamed that area gently, his sucking coming to a stop and his grinding growing slower. 

“Twins?” he asked in a whisper against Keith’s heart. 

Keith placed a hand on Lance’s head feeling his hair then cupped his prickly face. “Your twins, your seed. One night and I’m already pregnant.”

Lance groaned. “I never thought it would be like this, I never...I didn’t think you could be real. Of course you were made from magic. I...you’re so wet for me. I want to lick it. 

Keith chuckled and ran his thumb beneath Lance’s chin. “Not until you’ve shaved. Only then will I let you devour me as you please. Tonight, Lance, let me show you how much I missed my prince.”

Lance nodded and allowed Keith to guide him back to his chest. The prince eagerly continued suckling and left more kiss marks on his mate’s body. His hands finally moved from Keith’s stomach to his hips then down to his thighs. Lance dug his fingers into them and pushed Keith’s legs further apart making Keith grab on him for support. With one hand, Lance reached beneath Keith from the front and began to tease the base of his cock back to his cunt. The other hand went to Keith’s ass and Lance squeezed one cheek. 

“Do you think you’re wet enough to take me without help?” Lance asked. 

Keith pulled away so he could look down at Lance. It was already hard for him to think. “I’m so wet, but so tight. I only had your knot that one night.”

Lance hummed happily. “Only wet for me, my ruby. My precious magical jewel.”

Keith chuckled at the pet names and kissed Lance’s forehead only to throw his head back in a moan as Lance slid a finger into his omega hole. 

Keith’s body clenched onto Lance’s fingers and he whined as he moved himself on them. 

“Hold still,” Lance said as he slid a second one in and began to stretch him. 

“I...remember that night. It felt like such a dream until now,” Keith admitted feeling tears in his eyes. He had practiced so hard to be here again in this alpha’s embrace. 

He was in love, he had to be, he had never so desperately wanted someone’s embrace. He had never worked so hard for it. 

Lance laid his head against Keith’s chest and took in his smell. “Me, too. If it wasn’t for our bond I would have thought you nothing but a dream. Now, now I’m going to make sure I never forget how you feel.”

Three fingers worked Keith opened. Lance’s other hand kneaded at Keith’s ass making bruises on the smooth skin. Keith shivered as small orgasms wracked his body, but his cock was still hard and precum leaked from his tip. He collected it on his thumb and placed it to Lance’s lips. The alpha easily licked it away and they shared another kiss. 

“I need to be in you, Keith. Are you ready?”

“Lay down and watch me take you in,” Keith instructed, pushing the prince to lay flat. 

Lance laid back, but kept his hands on Keith. He rubbed them up and down Keith’s thighs, nails raking just enough to leave red marks on the pale skin. 

Keith reached for Lance’s cock, rubbing its hard length through the fabric of his bottoms before pushing those down and pulling it out. He whined seeing Lance’s size both scared and hungry for it. It was the same almost purple shade that was both beautiful and terrifying. He pressed it against his own. Keith wasn’t small by any means, but felt it next to his alpha’s. Rubbing them together, he built up precum he then rubbed like lube between them. 

“Keith,” Lance begged. 

Finally, Keith lifted himself on his knees and positioned the prince’s dick at his slit pressing the tip in. Once he could feel that, he rocked his hips and slowly started to lower. 

It was tight, but Keith welcomed the heat of the stretch. The connection between them made this feel so much better. His body knew this cock was his to take pleasure with and he squeezed himself around it. When he bottomed out, he gaged the prince’s expression. 

Again, it was like a mirror. Lance was biting his lip, holding himself back, but eager and in love. 

“Say it, my prince,” Keith begged as he grind his hips, breath getting labored with need. “Say it, please, say it.”

“Keith,” Lance moaned. “I...I love you so much. I love you and I missed you.”

Keith smiled and lifted himself before dropping back down. “I...I missed you, too. I love you...ah...s-so much.”

Keith moved with an unsteady rhythm. He had never done this before, had mostly laid still the one time they were together, but he did what his body told him to and watched the prince’s reactions. 

Lance gripped hard at Keith’s thighs then finally moved them to his ass. He pulled the cheeks apart, his long fingers tickling at Keith’s asshole that was wet from all the slick dripping from Keith’s cunt. Lance used that grip to guide Keith. Keith shivered, broken moans loud and not withheld leaving his lips. He chuckled every time Lance moaned with him. 

“Beautiful,” Lance said. “So beautiful, riding me like I’m yours to command. Do it. You’re my mate, you’ll lead with me. Command me, Keith.”

Keith shook his head, but smiled. He could command the whole world, but never Lance and never his heart. “Never, but I’ll support you. Ah...you’re growing.”

The base of Lance’s dick grew and caught. Even out of Keith’s heat he’d knotted. Keith whined, but continued to grind down. Lance moved one hand from Keith’s ass to stroke his omega’s dick along with the movements. Arching, Keith finally came. Lance sat back up and brought him into a hard kiss before Keith had fully come down as he shot his own release inside Keith. 

Keith kissed back with little effort feeling exhausted already. He let Lance hold him close like he was precious and moved them so they were both laid on their sides. With Keith’s head on Lance’s chest and one leg over his hip, they caught their breath.

Connected once more. Finally. 

“My mate,” Lance muttered peppering kisses over Keith’s hair. 

Keith laughed and pressed a kiss to Lance’s chest. “Yes. And I will be here all night and every night from now on.”

“That’s a promise,” Lance said. 

“Yes,” Keith agreed, but thought. _No, that’s a command_. 

🜟

The sun rose the next morning with chittering maids exclaiming their excitement at having found the so-called ‘Prince Akira’ in Prince Lance’s room. A meeting was called in the throne room and Lance’s court stood eagerly waiting for the appearance of their prince. Advisor Coran looked both pleased and nervous as he babbled to the made up court of their visiting prince who said few words back. General Sendak, on the other hand, stood with crossed arms, glaring. 

It was sometime before Prince Lance appeared freshly shaven with his clothes finally properly tied after months of unkempt brooding. But, he wasn’t alone. With a tender hand, Lance guided Keith to his throne where he sat the pregnant omega and chose to stand himself. 

Keith had dropped his glamour and wore fresh clothing fit for the mate of a king. Red patterned silks with gold trims and ruby encrusted jewelry decorated his body. His robes opened right where the pudge of his stomach stuck out giving a tantalizing tease that he may be with child. He sat feeling only slightly nervous, but the hand Lance kept in his helped as did every love bite and bruise on full display across his skin. 

They were both very openly littered with them. 

Talk began in the far back of the room. Lance ignored it and began to speak. 

“I have called a meeting of the court to introduce my chosen mate,” Lance said. “It was three months ago that I found the love of my life in a thief on our own streets, streets I had never laid eyes on before. I saw the sadness of our kingdom and was moved by the strength of the people there. The strength of one particular omega who treated me with kindness and not unearned respect, gained my love. So we mated. However, he was wrongfully taken from me even though my seed had planted in his womb on that first night. For months I was certain he had to be dead, but there was hope and today I understand hope far better. That thief worked hard to prove himself to me and came back to me with his own power, came back to me as someone he deemed worthy of a future king, a prince. However, I believe I am unworthy of him for he has always been amazing in my eyes.”

Keith couldn’t help but flush at the praise. They had agreed to keep the story of Marmora, but add that Keith turned out to be a missing prince and his mother had been a princess who was abducted for her sorcery powers and saved by his father. That way his own powers wouldn’t be questioned. Still, it felt good to hear Lance announce his love like that. It made him feel warm inside and he purred. 

Lance looked down at Keith and smiled then turned back to his court. “I introduce to you, Prince Keith Akira Kogane, the Ruby of Marmora, your new King-Consort.”

A round of applause spread across the hall interrupted only when Sendak stepped forward and pulled his sword. 

“Your majesty, that is not a prince, but a street rat. They have used magic to seduce you!”

“A magic induced infatuation wouldn’t work during heat and if Prince Keith is indeed marked by the prince, that means they have already mated. Also, it sounds to me as if there are heirs on the way,” Coran interjected. 

“Your words are true, Advisor,” Lance said. “I apologize for my uncooperativeness these past few months, but you can see now why I have felt that way. To be without your mate just after establishing a bond is hard on most anyone.”

Murmurs of agreeance flooded the throne room. 

“Silence!” Sendak yelled and pointed his sword at Keith. “This omega was colluding with Honerva known as Haggar to overthrow our kingdom.”

Suddenly, Kosmo appeared and bit into Sendak’s arm forcing him to drop the sword. Keith’s made-men moved immediately and grabbed him forcing him to his knees.

“Agh! What are you doing?” Sendak yelled. 

“The one colluding with Honerva was you, Sendak. You’re the one who kidnapped my mate and tossed him out though you knew I’d given him the mark.”

“There was no such mark, he must have gotten it from somewhere else,” Sendak argued. 

Lance laughed. “Are you stupid? That’s not how marks work. Keith, shut him up.”

“Your wish is my command.” Keith grinned and stood producing his dagger. He walked up to Sendak. He leaned in close and whispered, “I dare you to go to that cave again and see what you find.”

“Genie,” Sendak hissed. “She doesn’t belong to you.”

Keith grinned. “She doesn’t belong to anyone anymore.”

Sendak’s eyes widened, but before he could say more Keith whacked him over the head with the hilt of his dagger. When Sendak had shook himself of the pain, he found he could no longer open his mouth. He stared at Keith in horror. 

Keith didn’t look at Sendak again. He walked back to Lance’s side and took the alpha’s offered hand with a smile before sitting once more. 

“As you can see, my mate is not only beautiful, but strong. He is well suited to lead beside me and I will hear no complaints about my choice. He carries twins after all.”

Congratulations spread. Two heirs! So soon! Their kingdom would surely prosper with such a good omen. 

“Then we must quickly plan your coronation. Ah, that is after we have dealt with General Sendak,” Coran said looking at the man on his knees pitifully. “What shall we do with him?”

“Give him to the pride,” Lance said. “My lions could use such a fun meal. As for his accomplices, we’ll weed them out and see whether they would prefer the same fate or reformation.”

“Who will we get to replace him so soon, though. You’ll need your full court for the coronation,” Coran said. 

Lance turned to Keith. “I believe there’s a guard named Shiro who will be loyal to my crown.”

Keith took Lance’s hand and kissed it in thank you. 

“Then so be it,” Coran announced. “Praise to our king and his mate, praise to our future princes and princesses. We are yours to command.”

“We are yours to command,” chanted the rest of the throne room.

“Your wish is my command,” Keith whispered to Lance. 

Lance leaned down to share a kiss before the court. “As is yours, my ruby.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed. ^.^


End file.
